Nemo Nobody is the last mortal in a world of immortals. At the age of
118 he is on his deathbed and his memory has faded. Nonetheless
journalists and academics are interested in his story. But this story
is muddled mess of reality, wrong choices, corrected choices, tragedy
and dreams. With three loves which one of them did he marry? When their
parents divorced did he stay with his father or leave with his mother?
Did he die in a car crash? But if yes than how is he still alive? Maybe
he is in a coma and everything is but an illusion? Did I give away too
much? Not really, since the reality of what really transpired is
muddled, confusing and necessitates repetitive rewatches. Even the
above storyline does not seem to fit what really transpiring in this
thought invoking philosophical movie.

"Mr Nobody" is a cinematographic feat that overtakes any other
sci-fi/fantasy outing that 2010 had to offer. In many ways the
dreamlike story of Jaco van Dormael is very similar to the breakthrough
"Inception", but unlike the more renowned blockbuster it succeeded in
every department Nolan failed, while kept up the bar with his American
counterpart. This is the absolute cinematographic triumph of film that
so many people believe "Inception" was, but just can not help but feel
Nolan's movie was inferior on so many levels. In the two that matter
the most: 1. "Mr. Nobody" conveys a multi-layered complex message about
human existence, something that "Inception" in reality doesn't even
attempt. 2. "Mr. Nobody" has a depth of human emotion that was
nonexistent in Nolan's work.

At the same time "Mr. Nobody" conveys it's complex story in a way that
is enjoyable to watch and surprisingly understandable. As with life it
changes from laughter to tragedy from the ordinary to the
extraordinary. And everything exposed with such clarity, that confusion
is non-existent about the proceedings. That is until the film unfolds
in the final act and you are left bewildered as to what actually
happened. I must however stress, that this is not a fault, as the
complexity, unpredictability and faith in human intelligence that the
ending conveyed where a highlight of the movie, as before that I was
expecting to be severely disappointed by the straightforward ending,
that seemed to be suggested. Nonetheless I fully understanding if the
final 5 minutes turn out to be severely disappointing to most and also
make the movie not suitable for the wider audience.

The only fault I could find in this movie, which flirts successfully
with greatness, concerns the overly romantic, almost childlike love
stories concerning Mr. Nobody's life. That said if you accept the most
likely version of events (in my opinion) it actually makes a lot of
sense…

Any movie auteur will also probably appreciate the clear hommages made
in this movie and will recognize scenes from "Harold and Maude", "Space
Odyssey 2001" or "The Double Life of Veronica", just to name a few.

A real treat that rekindles my love for cinema and instills admiration
for Jaco Van Dormael. Quite possibly the best and most intellectual
movie I have seen in 2010 (and I have seen over 500).

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*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Pastiche. Means I can't appreciate the film as an original effort. All
the parts of the movie seem borrowed. Well put together, possibly, but
borrowed. Had this film been made in the 80's or 90's, I'd give it far
more respect.

As is, I'm left feeling a little underwhelmed. We have a clearly
well-healed, well-produced film. Film uses alternative realities
stories. Film delves into cosmos pop-science. Granted, I like this
stuff, however, I've seen this many, many times before; it's not easy
to make this feel fresh. Hearing the "butterfly effect" term in dialog
feels like nails being dragged across a chalkboard. Just please, don't
show me a "butterfly effect" montage.

Must I describe the romance vehicle within the film? I'd really rather
not. Reminded me of Goldilocks and the three porridges. That the "too
hot" and "too cold" porridges contain beloved children doesn't appear
to matter in the bottom line of the experience. This came across as a
bit cold; didn't gel quite right.